ARC: The Lost Chapters
by GLaDOS-01
Summary: The vortex took her from Shepard and in so doing, doomed the Commander to her death. But what happened before she came back to life? What events took place to her beloved companions? Find out. These are extra chapters for A Reality's Companion like ARD Shenanigans is for A Reality's Difference, so expect both information and crazy shit to go down. Rated M for unexplained reasons.
1. Willingly

**A/N: Now that we're going with ARC, I figure I should put up some of the 'lost chapters' not in the official release. It'll give you more detail on the timeline, insight to the Vertoak and other races, along with random funny-ass stuff that went down. This, by the way, will come in references and such within the official story. Please read, for either recreation or information. Thank you lots love you all and have a nice day! ;D**

"And so the Blackblood Princess returns…" Rissara muttered distastefully, eying me with her obsidian gaze. Father said nothing, instead choosing to look upon me from the height of his dais. I had thought father would allow me to meet in private but given what happened, it was hoping for too much. No one I knew but my closest companions such as Vetrali or Adel felt comfortable when alone with me.

"We had thought you and your blood-kin died, princess." A Judge Magister said quietly, only offering a bow of the head in greeting. At least the Magisters knew part of what happened. Other murmurs ran through the onlookers as well, adding pressure to the atmosphere.

I bowed in respect, ignoring the knots in my stomach. Shepard would've been able to stand this better than I, surely. Being alone made everything harder. My siblings were kneeling down behind me in respect, keeping silent. Liara was allowed to stand by them but she knew better than to speak. Even if she didn't it was obvious this wasn't a social gathering.

As the eldest, it was my duty to stand 'welcome'.

"I had assumed you died on the control station my corrupted daughter. After all, it was you who destroyed those relays and pulled us into this new reality. Tell me: how are you standing here?" father finally said, grinding my nerves down with his unfeeling voice. It was too much to ask of me. I was still licking my wounds from that damned vortex a week before. Not all of them were of the flesh.

From the corner of my eye, I could see Vetrali walk into the room and stop dead at seeing me. I'd never mistake her green hair, even after so long. I was internally happy she was still alive but it wasn't the time or place for reunions. Happy ones, anyway.

"I was found in a ruin of our creation by a human- a species you don't know of yet. She took me in, and soon, my siblings. After we destroyed a Reaper that attacked the Citadel, a vortex sucked us through to a remote planet on the edge of our galaxy. Obviously, Adel soon found us." Whispers washed through the chamber at the news of Sovereign. Father sat back down in his throne and drew his brows together as a frown scrunched his features.

"And so it begins…" he muttered, before looking back to me. "Tell me more."

"From what I have gathered, much time has passed- relative to our original timeline. Nazara was acting as a vanguard to the Reaper forces. By manipulating the Citadel as their core power the Reapers would be able to…"

…

"I see." Father grunted. "It seems our old enemies lack ability to stop even themselves now."

"Yes father." I agreed. He thought for a few moments, regarding Liara with narrowed eyes and making her uncomfortable. Even if she was behind me I knew she would be, given she was shy and ever since meeting with more Vertoak she'd been out of her element. More than usual. She wasn't the only one, either. Gods, I wished I was still with Shepard…

"We will have to stop them from killing any more innocents. It is our first mistake that led to their creation and I will see it undone." He began, turning his eyes back to me. "For now I will have your brothers and sister confined to their quarters. The 'asari' is to enlighten me further." As he spoke, the Magisters of the Court walked up and pulled my brothers from their kneeling positions. A third went for Jasin but she gripped his forearm and threw him to the ground. I turned back just in time to see her pull Liara close behind her, letting her go next to me as she kept walking. Father stood, his eyes already shining with the stirrings of anger.

"What are you-?"

"I invoke the rite of Xotal!" Jasin almost shouted. She knew what father would do to Liara if anything were to go wrong and she would have none of it. But the rite of Xotal was something to do _only_ in life or death situations. It could be counted as a breaking of the law to use it for anything less.

"What is your purpose with the rite? You have no title to stake it upon!" the Judge Magister stated, slamming his staff into the ground.

"I will not have harm come to Liara, nor will I allow her to be interrogated, father!" Jasin snapped. "She is my vensca'al, father!"

"Do not claim that which is not yours!" he suddenly roared, making me flinch. "The rite of Xotal may allow you to protect her but do not believe I will ignore your disregard for our traditions!"

I stepped forward and gripped Jasin's shoulder to stop her from speaking further. They both snapped their gazes to me and I pushed Jasin back to Liara. There was no need for anyone to fight when I could stop it. Shepard would do the same, I think.

"Then allow me to take the punishment." I stated.

"What business do you have to take it?" father demanded.

"Liara has told me everything she knows and Jasin truly believes she is the vensca'al. If you take me I can give you more information and you'll be able to keep my-… my corruption… in check." I explained quietly.

He stared hard down at me for what felt like an eternity. My heart beat against my chest and I wanted to heave from the strain on my body but I held it in behind my blank mask. There was no reason to break down in a pile of tears at that moment. It wouldn't help anything.

"If that is what you wish." Father finally relented. My brothers had to be dragged out of the court and Jasin kept Liara close to her as they were escorted away. I didn't meet their eyes, nor did I react at their arguments. I knew father would've confined me eventually, so why not let it be of my own will?

Maybe the Solinium exposure would help me in other ways, as well. I still needed to begin training myself to change and control the Corruption; Solinium was known for helping with that. Most of the time.

So I didn't fight when I was taken to the chambers.

…

"But she did nothing to fight you!" Adel finally snapped, her ire growing at her uncle's disregard for his own daughter. The only cousin she had that stayed by her side even in the darkest of times, and she was in the bowels of a prison.

"You forget what she did to give me this scar." He replied, pressing a hand over his heart.

"That wasn't her fault. She's been alone all this time, allowing you to do what you will to her without a word of challenge. I know this may not be my place but I will volunteer myself for the prison if you will not release her." she stated. Her glare lacked anything but the truth and the court knew it.

"Why would you protect her?" he demanded, glaring right back.

"Why would you not?" she snapped, letting go of her formal position. "She thinks of herself as a monster and you do nothing to stop it! You never asked her what happened to make her take in the Gavaek'Jaggx nor did you care to see what destruction you have caused to her heart!"

"I have done nothing of the sort!" he roared, standing.

"You have done only torture to her! You treat her as if she is the Corruption itself! Do you not understand what you have done to her?! You act as our benevolent ruler, even without our beloved Empress to support you and her children, caring nothing for the darkness you bring to that throne! You know what will happen in less than a year and yet you still act as if the only thing you want to do is hurt those close to you!" she wasn't holding herself back anymore. He had to know what he was doing.

"I will not allow her to hurt anyone!"

"And yet you hurt them and her just as much! Have you not taken the time to be the father you used to be? I know you would _never_ have done anything remotely close to this before Empress Terestia died! You would have given your life to keep it from occurring! Look at what you have done!" she continued, holding out her arm as a hologram of Raega faded into view, large enough for everyone to see.

Her head was hanging limp as her arms were held out at her sides, embedded in the translucent Solinium. Her legs were also trapped together in the material, unable to be moved. Blood stained her exposed torso in several places, only half of them dried.

"She let you do this with no fight." Adel stated, her voice quieter. She saw the look in the Emperor's eyes and recognized it as pain. "All I ask is that you let me take her."

**A/N: I'll add more to this chapter later but I need to get going with a few more right now. Forgive me please. And I only wrote this as the first chapter because it was the beginning and before those months of hell happened. So let's see just what kind of hell it was…**


	2. My Honorable Friend

**Hopelessly Blue: I take the inspiration from my own dad to be honest. Don't tell him I said that. XD But really, he does have some issues with parenting. Makes you wonder whatever happened to his old personality, right? You'll find out eventually. And if your mom is like that, we have to share a mental high-five because mine is too! I added that part with Jasin because I figured you might appreciate it. Given Liara has someone to protect her, right? I wonder if Ayashe will have a chance with the adorable asari scientist. What do you think? ;P **

**A/N: Here's chapter two, my dear reader. ;) **

"Your majesty…" it was the sadness in that voice that caused my dry, heavy eyes to open. I would have looked up if my neck were not so weak and cramped. There were two people in front of me.

One wore the clothing of my cell guard; dark pants of thinner material that billowed out slightly where it met his dark boots. His shirt was skintight and black as his armor overlay covered his chest. His shoulders were adorned with guards as well, bearing the insignia of the Guard. The other one, a woman, wore similar armor but if my view of her lower body was anything to go on she was part of Adel's command, and so had armor around her hips that held a ceremonial cloth of command. It hung down from the front of her belt and reached her ankles, holding the mark of a first Commander.

It must be casual Friday.

The guard, Isoph Mar'canan, stepped forward, drawing my attention away from my inner joke. It took only a moment before the Solinium structure I was in began to recede. As soon as the air met with my sensitive, damp skin, I closed my eyes once more. I didn't know why they were releasing me or how long I had been in there but it hurt just to feel the air. It almost burned from the coolness of the current surrounding the room we were in.

"Slowly, Isoph, she is weak." no kidding. I hadn't moved in at least three days.

As the Solinium continued in its slow journey of uncovering my appendages, the Commander stepped forward. My upper body soon slumped forward into her, bones cracking and groaning in protest at every movement of the weakened joints. I winced in pain but said nothing, my throat already out of practice from being silent. My arms soon followed and fell limply just as my thighs were being uncovered.

Eventually, I was fully released. The woman lowered me to the ground slowly but kept me sitting up against her raised leg to free up her hands. My eyes opened once more to look up at the two people over me and I saw their expressions of concern. I blinked several times to force the dryness away, unable to move my limp body. It hurt just being on the ground again. My body ached and felt every tiny movement with agitated nerves and swollen, weak muscles.

"Here, your majesty." I looked up at Valra Cozai, I realized, only to blink at a spoon in front of my face. The smell of thick stew met my nose then, and I squinted back up at them in confusion. There was no need to release me to feed me nor was there any reason Adel's first Commander needed to visit.  
"I will explain but first you must take food and drink." She muttered. I looked back at the spoon and opened my mouth. Since I was still unable to move Valra had to feed me like I was an infant. It was a humbling experience, and one I wished I wasn't currently going through.

"What-…" my voice cracked. "What are you doing here?" I managed, my voice raspy and breathy.

"Releasing you from this injustice, my princess." Valra replied, making me take another bite. Isoph frowned at himself it seemed, and sat on my other side. He was the one with the water, and I was thankful to the gods for it.

"You defy my father by doing this." I whispered, too weak to fight her off as she pulled me up.

My arms were over both her and Isoph's shoulders and they left the food and drink there to free their hands and keep me steady. My legs were useless obviously, so they'd have to practically drag me out of there. Not that it seemed they were having second thoughts.

"We would defy our honor by not." Isoph replied.

…

"_Hello?" I called, looking around myself. Nothing. Black clouds churned around me and the thick, cold air stirred around my body as if I were sinking underwater. My lungs were constrained, struggling to take in a proper breath of air and my heart beat in my chest rhythmically. Its thudding sound was all I could hear, echoing around me in the dark plane I found myself in._

"_Darkness is all you know…" the words simply faded into my mind. They lacked a voice or any specific gender. There was a presence of something ancient and dark and cold but nothing told me what it was._

"_What are you? Where am I?" I couldn't speak myself, but I heard myself ask all the same. Was this telepathy?_

"_I am Darkness eternal." It responded. "You are the prison to chain me."_

"_What…?" I was confused. Surely this thing, whatever it was, wasn't the Gavaek'Jaggx? _

_Something brushed against me then, the stirring of the thick water-like air shifting. A feeling made itself known the back of my mind then, something sharp. It was like cold amusement if anything were to label the strange feeling._

"_Yes, mortal thing." The words would've smiled maliciously if they could. "I am that which destroyed your people once, and took your kin. I am what haunts you in every shadow and terrifies you with every nightmare."_

_The current shifted once more, squeezing me tightly. I found it harder to breathe and I could no longer move even my head as something moved before me. The dark clouds dissipated only slightly to show a pure black form floating in front of me. There was nothing to identify it, not even the garnet red eyes I knew its incarnate would have. There was nothing but true darkness before me, and it began to spread around me, draining life from my body._

"_I am what saved your life. I am nothing and everything to you yet you believe I am only a plague to control." Something like anger flooded me from the foreign yet familiar sentience, hurting my joints and heating my blood. If I could've screamed I would have.  
"There is nothing in you to control, for I have long since flooded your being and snuffed out the light of your soul. Do not believe your mortal abilities could ever stretch far enough to skim the surface of true darkness. All you will succeed in doing is condemning all you hold dear."_

"_Why do you care?" my mind growled in pain, stiff from the pain and burning cold._

"_There is no 'care'. There is no 'love'. I am Darkness made real and I now reside within you." my mind began to burn from the cold penetrating it, and I tried to gasp to keep breathing. My lungs felt like they were being squeezed by glacial air, closing my throat and suffocating me.  
"With no light to shine in you there is nothing to change." It continued, pushing harder, growing around me and burning every nerve ending I had. It was so cold it burned and stung and took away my thought process._

"_I __**am**__ you!"_

My eyes snapped open in unison to my body jolting, desperately sucking in air. Just as suddenly, I coughed harshly, feeling as if my throat were just strangled. I took several slow breaths to try and calm down, ignoring my shaking, sweating body.

It was the fourth time I had 'talked' to it.

Every time it drained me and made me feel like I was slowly dying from the inside, even after I woke up.

I blinked several times and squinted from behind my bangs to see my quarters on the Slayer's Fate. It had only been eight days since Shepard's death and my 'meeting' the Illusive Man. My gaze slid to the display on my desk showing the time to be three in the morning. Another day of less than four hours of sleep, then.

"I see you are awake." A voice muttered, making me jolt in fear. A moment later, I squinted up at my familiar companion, Vetrali, and relaxed. She smiled down at me as she brushed my bangs from my face, as gentle as always. Ever since she'd been created to act as my caretaker and companion she'd always been there at the most convenient of times.

"You didn't have to check on me." I muttered although I was inwardly grateful I wasn't alone. Ever since I was torn from Shepard and thrown back to my father I found myself nursing a phobia of being alone. It was possible I wouldn't ever get over it with these nightmares and everything else pressing me. Naturally, only Vetrali knew. I didn't want anyone else to know how weak I had become.

"I was alerted to your elevated breathing an irregular heartbeat." That was always her excuse. For more than a week now I would wake up and she'd be there because she knew I was afraid of being on my own. Even if she was an AI she was a better person than many I knew.

"… Thank you." I whispered, allowing my eyes to fall to the bed. Even my sheets were dark.

"Get some more rest, Raega." She said softly, still stroking my hair, knowing it calmed me. "I will watch over you." she promised, taking the liberty to sit on my bed.

My hands moved to rest on her lap and around her waist, still fearful she would disappear. It may have been childish but everything I felt I was or had been was slowly breaking over the sight of Shepard dying in front of me and the darkness I felt growing inside of me, seeing her body every waking moment. I had almost nothing to keep me afloat in the ocean of tears and pain I found myself in save for my beloved caretaker and dear cousin. I felt like a broken shell being tossed around mercilessly by fate. I was pathetic.

But eventually, my eyes slid closed to Vetrali's gentle gaze.

**A/N: Again, these are just small snippets my friends. If you want more I will comply, and yes, I DO take requests. That goes for all of my stories, in fact. See you next chapter!**


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